1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of stenciled artwork and methods of producing such artwork. More specifically the present invention relates to a method of applying one or more colors of dye to a screen mesh sheet to create an artistic image, so that the dye does not clog screen mesh openings and adheres to and is visible from only on the side of the screen mesh sheet to which it is applied. The present invention further relates to the resulting dyed screen mesh sheet.
The method includes the steps of wiping down a screen mesh sheet with a cleaning agent; placing a yieldable foam sheet on a substantially planar support surface; placing the screen mesh sheet face to face against the foam sheet; applying force against at least a region of the screen mesh sheet to be dyed in the direction of the support surface, thereby pressing the region of the screen mesh sheet into the foam sheet so that foam sheet material bulges into and preferably through the mesh openings in the screen mesh sheet, thereby obstructing applied dye from contacting the rearward surfaces of the screen wire making up the screen mesh sheet and the lateral surfaces of the screen wire facing adjacent strands of screen wire within the mesh openings; and applying a dye to forward surfaces of the screen wires using conventional dye spraying equipment and conventional spraying procedures. A stencil is preferably placed onto the screen mesh sheet forward face prior to spraying to create a desired dye pattern or image.
The resulting dyed screen mesh sheet presents an attractive and uniform dye image which contrasts in color or darkness with the screen mesh sheet is clearly visible from the sheet forward face and entirely invisible through the sheet rearward face, and in no way obstructs the view through the sheet. The screen wires may be formed of metal, plastic or other material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have long been methods of painting and dying patterns onto flexible sheet material, including screen mesh. Yet prior methods often clog the mesh openings, so that the view through the screen mesh sheet is marred. This substantial aesthetic defect is highly pronounced where the screen mesh is very fine.
Other screen covering devices and methods include Templeton, U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,393, issued on Jul. 19, 1966, for an apparatus and method for patching screens. Templeton is essentially a solid plate having an ornate shape with means for securing the plate onto a screen to cover a hole in the screen. The resulting Templeton screen presents an image which is visible from both sides of the screen and which obstructs the view through the screen. The butterfly patch silhouette shown in Templeton FIG. 2 is evidently solid, and thus can be seen very clearly from both sides of the screen. Templeton FIG. 6 shows a plate 14 having a free form shape rather than a butterfly shape, and shows plate fasteners 16. The plate 14 shape of FIG. 6 still shows through the screen in silhouette from the rearward side, and since the fasteners 16 are smaller than the plate 14, the plate shape showing through is not altered. Thus Templeton image does not vanish upon turning the screen around to view the second side, as the image does in the present invention.
Other prior art references pertaining to images created on sheet material generally are Donaldson, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,232, issued on Jul. 24, 1973 for a coloring set; Abrams, U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,875, issued on Mar. 14, 1967 for a decorative panel; Lane, U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,494, issued on Jul. 12, 1977 for a holiday light; and Keithley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,213, issued Jun. 23, 1987 for an extruded aluminum sign frame section.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a method of applying pigmented material such as vinyl dye to a screen mesh sheet which prevents the pigmented material from filling and closing mesh openings.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a method which confines the applied pigmented material to the forward surfaces of the screen wires making up the screen mesh sheet, so that the image created by the pigmented material is visible from only the forward face of the sheet, and there is no evidence of the pigmented material or of an image when viewing the opposing, rearward face of the sheet.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a method which requires only inexpensive equipment to implement, which may be rapidly executed, which requires minimal skill to execute, and which is suitable for dying screen mesh sheets having a fine mesh so that greater color intensity is produced per unit area.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide a display in the form of a screen mesh sheet having an image formed of pigmented material on at least a portion of one face of the sheet which does not intrude into or fill any screen mesh openings and which is visible from only one side of the screen mesh sheet.